1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to operating systems for computers. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for using a directory service to facilitate centralized device naming.
2. Related Art
Recent advances in networking technologies and distributed operating systems have enabled computer systems to share network-attached devices, such as printers, disk drives, and scanners. This type of sharing can significantly increase device utilization and at the same time can reduce overall system cost.
In order to effectively use these network attached devices (as well as devices that are attached directly to computer systems, but are shared on a network) it is important for these network-attached devices to have the same name on each machine that uses these devices.
However, in many operating systems, centralized device naming is not supported, or is only supported with extensive overhead and cost. Hence, for many organizations, it is simply not cost effective (or they do not possess the expertise necessary) to implement centralized device naming.
Hence, what is needed is a method and an apparatus for supporting centralized device naming without the problems listed above.